Pipe-wrench.



= No. 656,l54. Patented Aug. l4, I900.

c. L. DUNHAM.

PIPE WRENCH.

{Application filed June 6, 1900.)

(No Model.)

WITNESSES 7 17V) E2) T032 TATES PIPE-WRENCH.

SPECIFICATION Application filed June 6 1900.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES L. DUNHAM, a citizen of the United States,residing atOentre View, in the county of Monroe and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Pi pe-Wrenches and I dode- 'clare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description ofthe invention, such as will en able others skilled in the art to whichit appertains to make and use the same, reference be ing had to theaccompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon,which form a part of this specification.

This invention has relation to improvements in pipe-wrenches; and itconsists in the novel construction, combination, and arrangement ofparts of which itis composed, all as will be hereinafter more fullyeXplained,and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

The annexed drawings, to which reference is made, fully illustrate mydevice, in which Figure 1 represents a side view of my wrench, partly insection. Fig. 2 is an edge or top view of the same, and Fig. 3 is anedge or bottom view.

Referring by letter to the accompanying drawings, A designates thewrench, which is composed of several parts pivoted to one another, theportion a being the lever that is pivoted to the portion 1), while thelatter in turn is pivoted to an intermediate portion c, which is alsopivoted to the portion 01, that is free and independent of the othersections and is interposed between the section 0 and the lever when thedevice is in operation. The lever a is provided with an opening e, nearits inner end, of peculiar shape, the inner end of the lever beingconstructed with an enlargement f, in which this opening is arranged,said opening being of an irregular form, the forward portion g beingmuch smaller in size than the opposite portion it,

while the lower surface thereof curves upward, as at i, and the uppersurface curving downward, as at j, presenting an opening in the innerend of the lever, which has a narrow portion and an enlarged portion,and the whole providing a seat for the pivotal pin, by which said leveris fulcrumed to the section Z), and this lever is further provided witha projection or nose 70 at the extreme inner end that engages one of theinterlocking lugs on forming part of Letters Patent No. 656,154, datedAugust 14, 1900.

SerialNo. 19,272. (No modelJ I the section d, further hereinafterexplained.

;To the inner end of the lever aforesaid is piv oted one end ofaskeleton or forked iron Z by a transverse bolt on, that passes througheyes n in said iron and through the peculiar-shaped opening in thelever, and this iron is forked at both ends, the same being joined by asolid bridge 0, the, whole formed integral. This skeleton iron isconstructed with downward-curved side flanges p 19 in the form of asegment, and the twin ends q q are provided with transverse perforationsor eyes 7" a, through which a bolt or pin 5 passes, which also passesthrough a transverse perforation in one end of the link to of the seriesof links 0, and the end 2; of the end link 10 is pivoted to the outerend of the section d, as at x, thereby in such construction connectingor pivoting the several sections to one another. The section d is of apeculiar shape and resembles in form somewhat the letter J, the samehaving the inner-curved face, which curve starts. from the point y nearits pivotal point and gradually curves upward and outward to the pointz. The outer'face of said section is provided with a series of lugs a,bea tween which are curved spaces Z), which correspond in shape with theshape of the point or nose and inner-curved portion of the lever, as atc.

. Having thus described the various parts of which my device iscomposed, I willnow proceed to explain its operation.

, 'In using my pipe-wrench the operator passes the pivotal sectionsaround the pipe in the usual manner, the free end of the section dentering the space between the side flanges of the skeleton iron thatprovides a guideway for said section and prevents any lateral movementthereof, after which the nose of the lever is brought into engagementwith said section by engaging one of the lugs and interlockingtherewith, when the handle portion of the lever is brought down, whichcauses the lever to turn upon its fulcrum, thereby raising the nose,which in turn causes the section 01 to rise upwardly and at the sametime inward, thus binding the pipe within the opening of the sections,and the harder the pressure applied to the handle the firmer thesections will grasp the object between them. It will be observed fromthe above description and by reference to the annexed drawings that inconstructing my pipe-wrench I dispense with any and all attachableparts, such as teeth or serrated parts, for the gripping portions of thesections, and by the peculiar construction of the opening in the lever Iam enabled to produce a power and pressure upon the section (Z whichwill cause the grasping-sections to firmly bind the pipe, and thispowerful pressure is obtained by reason of the fulcrumpin first comingin contact with the upper inner curved wall of the opening in the lever,

and .when the handle is pressed down a wedge-like contact is obtainedbetween the pin and wall, thereby giving the nose or point of the leverthe benefit of a compound forcing movement. At the same time the curveof the nose in contact with the curve between each interlocking lug alsohas a wedgingmovement, presenting a firm grip of the pivoted sections.At the same time the enlarged portion of the opening in the leverpermits said lever to accommodate itself to the different-sized pipes towhich the wrench may be applied-that is to say, should the pipe be verylarge the fulcrum-pin would find its own seat at a certain point withinthe opening corresponding with the expansion of the pivoted sections,and when said pipe is about the same diameter as the opening between thesections the fulcrum-pin will be seated in the narrow end thereof; andit will also be seen that in constructing the inner-curved faces of eachsection the curvature is struck to one side of a common center, therebypresenting a different curved or grasping portion to that of the pipe tobe turned.

I do not wish to be confined to the exact constructions of mypipe-wrench, as various changes may be made in its construction withoutdeparting from the spirit of my invention. For instance, one or moreinterlocking lugs may be used and one or more links may be dispensedwith and the section at pivoted directly to the skeleton frame, and adevice as herein shown and described is simple in operation, durable,and at the same time cheap to manufacture.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

1. In a pipe-wrench, the combination with the skeleton frame,conneetinglinks and lever, of the section (Z having the gradual innercurve and provided with the interlocking lugs, the curved point adaptedto engage said lugs, and the opening, comprising a small and large spaceto receive the f ulcrunipin, substantially as described.

2. In a pipe-wrench, the combination of the skeleton frame, and links,of the lever provided with the nose and opening, the latter having theenlarged curved portion and narrow portion, the section d having theinnercurved face and interlocking lugs on its outer face adapted toengage the nose of the lever, substantially as described.

3. In a pipe-wrench, the lever provided with the opening, comprisingdifferent-sized spaces and having a projection, in combination with thesection having the inner gradual-curved face and outer-curvedinterlocking lugs, the skeleton frame and connectinglinks, allsubstantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES L. DUNI'IAM.

\Vitnesses:

E. H. BATES, A. G. IIEYLMUN.

